Very Cute Kids

I could get into some hot water with this post, but there is one thing we have to set straight: your kids are cute... mine are cuter.  No need to feel offended!  I heard a suh-weet Ted Talk that illustrated this phenomenon. It's called "survival of the fittest."  Let me explain: I passed my genes onto these little people.  They are the final result of my gene test, the physical manifestation of my DNA--of course I'm going to think mine are better than yours.  Especially because, well... they are.

Part of the fun of having kids in an interracial marriage is thinking about how your kids will turn out--kind of like those flip-book games where you can choose a head and give it a different body and crazy legs.  (Clown face + Fireman body + Chicken legs = Funny)  Yuni and I would often talk about how our children would turn out.  Would they have Yuni's exotic brown eyes or would they be blue like mine?  Would they have lighter or darker skin?  Would they look more like me or her?  Of course, all marriages have these questions, but it was fun to throw so many variables into the mix.  Kind of like a "Choose Your Own Adventure" novel except it's your kid... and you can't really choose how they come out.  (Ok, bad example.  But "Whatever the Gods Decide" novels aren't quite as appealing to the venturesome young reader.)

Well, now we have two beautiful children--a girl and a boy--and I'm proud to say they are a beautiful mix of us both.  I call my daughter "ojos de chocolate" (chocolate eyes) because she has these deep, dark brown peepers that melt my heart.  Her hair is right in between Yuni's and my hair color (Yuni = dark brown, almost black; Ryan = bald... but it used to be blonde).  She has light brown hair with blonde, red, and dark highlights.  (It looks really cool when you see her in the sun.)  Her skin color is a nice "tan" color--lighter than her mommy but a few shades darker than her daddy.  She got her mommy's beauty and her daddy's buff legs.  She's a nice mixture of both her parents.  (I'm already considering building a mote around our home to keep all the "would be" suitors away in about twenty years or so.)

Yunuen always said she'd like to have a little boy who looked like a Mexican version of me.  Wish granted.  Our son is often referred to as "Ryan's clone" or "Ryan 2.0, the Latino model."  He has a striking similarity to his daddy, which makes me proud.  His skin is darker than his sister's, but his hair is lighter, leaning more towards red than dirty blonde.  He has the same rich, chocolatey eyes of his sister and mother but has his daddy's "butt" chin.  (I know, flattering.  That's how somebody referred to the cleft in my chin one time.  The term stinks, but I can live with it.  Hey-OH!)  He's very stout, meaning buff, and has these little shoulders that scream "I'm a future linebacker!"  

The funny thing is Yunuen and I always focused on what our children's physical attributes would be, but we now see there are other things they've inherited from us both.  For example, if either of my children hear music--any music with a good beat, but especially genres like salsa, merengue, cumbia--their little heads and hips start to wobble like a room full of Weebles.  (Those crazy Weebles!  They wobble, but they don't fall down!)  Our daughter showed us her swinging hips even before she could walk.  (Yunuen has a great video of her dancing to La Bamba.  I'll see if we can get it posted on here.)  Our son, who is just learning how to stand, bobs his head and weaves his arms.  Is there any doubt that they've been imbued with ritmo latino?

Of course, all parents love their kids and have fun seeing what parts of themselves surface in their little offspring.  It isn't something that only happens in interracial marriages.  So, all of you out there in the blogosphere, feel free to share your thoughts about your kids, what part of you showed up in your son or daughter.  Leave a comment.  Share it!  Just realize... your children aren't as cute as mine.  ;)